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PenFed and USAA banking value?

snake020

snake020

Contributor
I used PenFed many years ago for an auto loan which was very competitive but don't anticipate needing one again. Their cash rewards card was good for what it was at the time 10 years ago, but is no longer competitive and also is difficult to use with false positive fraud blockages on my legitimate transactions.

USAA seems to be doing some glitchy KYC workflow on me despite already answering some questions for them. Their chatbot was not helpful, and it left me lingering when I asked for a real person. I only have a minimal amount there which I use for my touring auto policy premium autopay.

I don't use any for significant banking; Schwab and NFCU are my mains. Any reason to keep these other two that I'm not seeing?
 
As an AD guy, I've found USAA to be helpful and understanding regarding the frequent moves and needing to insure in a different state than where the car is registered; in my 2 OCONUS moves, they've been really helpful in keeping my cars insured in storage in a different state than where they were registered when no one else would (and I rate shopped but was repeatedly told by the "name brand" insurers that it was impossible).

Other than that, I use them for 1 auto bill pay a month just to keep my account having activity. I think they are a pretty indistinguishable from any other big bank nowadays, sadly and I haven't found either their lending rates or their savings/CD/checking rates to be competitive in years.
 
I moved my banking from USAA and old school brick and mortar a number of years back to Capital One and never looked back.

I've been absolutely thrilled with Capital One. They have an incredible platform, and I have found zero need to consult with a human banker. On the rear occasion I need to visit a physical location. The Capital One Cafe is always available for things like cashier's checks.

Highly recommend it.
 
Left USAA over their teen driver insurance rates, as I have another kid that will start driving this year. I can insure three cars with Allstate using the exact same provisions, and it’s $90 less per month than I was paying to insure two with USAA. Their CS is also getting bad- wait times get longer and they don’t seem to coordinate well between departments.

I pivoted to a “high/low mix” of local banking and targeted savings/investments toward yield. I use Wealthfront for my emergency fund and short-term savings. PM if you’d like a referral link, both parties get a small interest rate bump.

Went local banking for month-to-month cash flow and things like cash and money orders- a lot of merchants charge extra (e.g. 3%) for using plastic, so big credit “rewards” are a losing proposition. Banking local also teaches my kids about banking in a way that’s accessible.
 
I went to chase for the brick-and-mortar option - insurance is now on a rotating basis between whoever gives me a good rate that year.

at a certain amount of liquidity, you're looking to reduce friction more than reduce outlays, viz sevenhelmet's above post.
 
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